It appears you can't turn around these days without bumping into a rising, young British actor (Carey Mulligan, Felicity Jones, Jeremy Irvine, Benedict Cumberbatch, etc) and we aren't really complaining particularly when their choices are so fascinating, so it's with particular interest that we'll be keeping an eye on "Summer In February."
Set, according to a press release, to star Dominic Cooper ("Captain America: The First Avenger," "The Devil's Double") and Ophelia Lovibond ("Nowhere Boy," "London Boulevard"), and based on the book by Jonathan Smith (who also wrote the screenplay), the story centers on a love triangle that develops in the life of painter Alfred Munnings, the famed British artist who took a marked stand against modernism. Cooper will take the lead role, but it has not yet been revealed who Lovibond or the rest of the cast that includes Dan Stevens ("Downton Abbey") and Hattie Morahan ("The Bank Job") will play.
Mostly-TV director Christopher Menaul will take the helm here, with the low-budget, $8-million movie going into production in January. Not much else to say except that the material seems promising, the talent is strong and the story compelling. It will be up to Menaul to turn it into something worth tracking down, but Cooper has already proven to be a magnetic screen presence and so we'll be interested in seeing him transform once again into a new role.
